Dhaka – Voting in Bangladesh’s 300 parliamentary seats will be held on December 23, according to the Election Commission.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda on Thursday announced the schedule for the 11th parliamentary elections calling all political parties to join the polls to help smooth continuation of the South Asian country’s democratic journey.

In a nationwide televised address, the CEC also call the people to choose their representatives without fear as his commission made every arrangement to hold the national election in a peaceful manner.

More than 100 million Bangladeshis have been registered as voter to choose their public representatives in their parliamentary seats, according to the election commission.

The commission, as per the election schedule, set November 19 to submit nomination papers, November 22 to scrutiny the candidature and November 29 for withdrawal of candidature.

The voting will take place on December 23 amid tight security. The army troops will be deployed in addition to the regular law enforcement agencies to maintain order during, after and prior to the election.

The announcement came after a weeklong dialogue between the ruling Awami League-led coalition of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former foreign minister Kamal Hossain, who forged an alliance with jailed former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

The opposition alliance, Jatiya Oikya Front, put a seven-point charter of demands, including release of Khaleda Zia and formation of a neutral administration ahead of the election, in the dialogue. They said none of their demands were fulfilled.